Cardiff Dragons 1 – 14 London Titans

Match report

Bishop of Llandaff School, GFSN League (11-a-side Mixed Gender)

21st November 2015

A day to forget as the Dragons felt the wrath of the Titans in our first home GFSN League fixture.

The Blues started slowly, conceding three goals in the opening five minutes, and could never recover their composure or muster any coherent play in a traumatic first half, despite the valiant attempts of Liam and Harriet to test the opposition defence. The Dragons back four, a combination of the inexperienced, the out-of-position and the unwell, found themselves repeatedly exposed by the slick build-up and clinical finishing of the visitors, who cut through a disorganised midfield at will. Liam’s free kick attempt—which sailed narrowly over the bar—provided the only suggestion of a scoring chance.

Things improved a little in the second period—particularly after captain Emyr moved forward into his more accustomed role alongside Zak, a combination which at last ignited some semblance of a passing game and got the team onto the front foot. An early penalty converted by Muzz offered a glimmer of hope, but goalkeeping replacement Dave W could not stem the tide at the other end, despite several important interventions. Harriet continued to supply a composure and consistency lacking elsewhere on the pitch, and rightly received the Dragon of the Day accolade for her efforts. The team actually enjoyed some sustained periods of possession after the break, but Liam’s free kick and Darrin’s rather tame attempt from just outside the area were the only shots on target.

The spirit and solidarity of last week’s Mersey venture—altogether lacking in the first 45—was much more in evidence later in the game, with the squad showing determination and courage to play through the disappointment right up to the final whistle. Further positives were the debut performance of Claudio and the strong display of Megan following her introduction at right back.

Many thanks to the supporters who endured the freezing afternoon and continued to provide unstinting encouragement throughout, to Antony and Ryan for their management, and to Craig for his authority and consistency in the refereeing role.

Cardiff Dragons are much bigger than one poor performance, and the task now is to learn from this defeat, maintain our unity, and bounce back as we have done in other leagues this season and so many times in the past. Our next opponents had better beware the backlash!